Influences of Partisanship and Incumbency On a Nonpartisan Election System

Abstract

RITICS OF POLITICS in the United States argue that nonpartisanship detracts from the goals of a responsible two-party system, that it curtails the development of viable grass-roots support for the respective parties, and that it hampers the recruitment of candidates for state and national partisan elections.? While the political insights gained from such studies are frequently perceptive and important, they often leave unanswered the reverse question of the impact of partisanship upon a nonpartisan system of elections.2 This study probes the incidence of that impact within local legislative bodies in the Milwaukee area. It places particular emphasis on the partisan affiliations of nonpartisan officeholders, the activity of the formal party apparatus during nonpartisan contests, the relationship between partisan and nonpartisan officeholders, and the effects of incumbency in nonpartisan elections.